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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Trying a new recipe can sometimes be time-consuming, especially when working with unusual or unfamiliar ingredients. Most work weeks don’t leave me with lots of extra time to spend trying out new recipes so I end up just falling back on reliable classics. On the weekends, I usually make it a point to try at least one new recipe. I have more recipes than I know what to do with bookmarked online or in one of the many wonderful recipe books I have collected. My goal is to at some point try out every recipe I mark. Sometimes I follow the recipe by the letter, other times I simply use it as a basic guideline and make my own variation.

Inspired by this weekend activity, I’m introducing a new section on The Awesome Vegetarian called Weekend Tryouts. I will share a recipe with you that intrigued me. I’ll tell you any variations or adjustments that I made to it. Most importantly though, I’ll tell you if it was any good!

For our first segment, I will start off simple and give you this easy recipe for a unique trail mix that would be great to set out at a party, to have around the house as a snack, or even “on the trail” (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Deviations from Original Recipe: The only thing I did differently was to start with dried chickpeas which I soaked in water overnight instead of using basic canned chickpeas. The difference in freshness is worth it in my opinion.

How did it turn out?: Amazing!(as I hope you can see from my photo above) Wasabi peas are not for the weak of heart (including myself). However, the combination of the spicy, sweet, and salty is perfect and tones down the wasabi’s spice without compromising the flavor. I highly recommend making this. The chickpeas have to bake in the oven for about an hour so it’s perfect if you’re spending the day doing projects around the house. Throw them in the oven and forget about them (not for too long though, you don’t want them to burn!). Don’t be afraid to bake the chickpeas for a little longer than the recipe suggests. You want them to be nice and crunchy. Enjoy!

Cranberry Wasabi Pea Trail Mix:

Ingredients:

15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed

⅓ cup dried cranberries

⅓ cup wasabi peas

1) Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2) Drain and rinse chickpeas, patting dry with a clean cloth to remove excess moisture.
3) Transfer chickpeas to baking sheet, arranging them in a single-layer. Spray with cooking spray, shake tray so chickpeas turn over and spray again. Repeat as necessary until all the chickpeas are well coated.
4) Bake 40-60 minutes, until chickpeas are a deep golden and crunchy. After 25 minutes of baking, generously sprinkle with fine sea salt, shake chickpeas and sprinkle again. Continue to bake.
5) Once baked allow to cool then mix with wasabi peas and dried cranberries as desired.